Deadly knife attack on Japanese child in China is an “isolated incident” according to Beijing

The fatal knife attack on a Japanese child in southern China was “an isolated incident,” the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said on Thursday, announcing that it would “continue to take the necessary measures” to ensure the safety of “all foreigners in China.”

Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing had expressed its condolences to the victim's family and would provide them with “any necessary assistance.”

The death of a 10-year-old Japanese child in Shenzhen – the city with the fifth-largest Japanese community in China – was confirmed on Thursday after he was stabbed to death on his way to school a day earlier.

The spokesman confirmed that the victim was a Japanese national whose father is Japanese and whose mother is Chinese. Lin said Beijing will work closely with Tokyo in investigating the case.

Police in China have not disclosed the child's gender, but Japanese news agency Kyodo previously reported that the victim was an elementary school student.